Hundreds Evacuated as Wildfires Sweep Turkey’s Coastal Regions
Poinews.com – Hundreds evacuated as wildfires sweep across Turkey’s western and southern coastlines, forcing thousands to flee their homes amid intense summer heat. Firefighters continued battling active blazes across multiple regions on Thursday, with fires burning in parts of Antalya and throughout Muğla province — home to some of the country’s most beloved resort destinations — after breaking out on Wednesday during extreme temperatures. Agriculture and Forestry Minister İbrahim Yumaklı confirmed that fires in Yalova’s Armutlu district, Kütahya’s Domaniç and Altıntaş areas, and in Çanakkale had been fully brought under control. Despite these successes, the regions of Antalya, Muğla and Balıkesir remained under significant threat from ongoing fire activity.
Travel Advisory and Regional Impact
The UK Foreign Office’s standing travel advice notes that wildfires are a regular feature of Turkish summers, running roughly from June to October and peaking in July and August, without issuing a blanket warning against travel to Antalya, Muğla or İzmir. As of Wednesday, Turkey had no active nationwide wildfire emergency, with recent fires, including those in Antalya’s Kaş district, contained within hours of breaking out. However, travellers heading to the region this week should be aware of specific disruptions affecting their journeys.
The Fethiye–Antalya highway was temporarily closed due to heavy smoke from the Seydikemer fire and later reopened under controlled conditions. Access to the ancient ruins at Olympos in Antalya province was closed to visitors. Kaş, a popular diving and boat-trip destination on the Lycian coast, has an active fire burning in the surrounding woodland areas.
The most serious active fire is in Seydikemer, a district in the hills between Fethiye and Marmaris. The blaze started on farmland on Wednesday morning and spread rapidly into woodland.
Forty-five patients were evacuated from the local state hospital and transferred to nearby facilities as the situation developed. Across six affected neighbourhoods, 408 homes were evacuated and 703 people along with around 100 animals were moved to safety. Fifty-five buildings were damaged, some completely destroyed by the flames. More than 25 aircraft, 410 ground vehicles and over 1,100 personnel were deployed to the area to combat the spreading fires.
In Kumluca, a district south of Antalya city on the road toward Kaş and the Lycian coast, a fire left 10 homes unusable. Crews brought the main blaze under control but were continuing cooling operations on Thursday. Five separate fires broke out in Balıkesir province, which sits between İzmir and the Dardanelles coast, on Wednesday, adding to the growing emergency.
The most significant was in Altınoluk, a seaside town on the Aegean known for its olive groves, near the ancient site of Antandros. The fire grew rapidly in strong winds and threatened residential areas, prompting the evacuation of 210 homes. The Gömeç fire, in the same province, was still active on Thursday evening, keeping emergency crews on high alert.
Six aircraft, five helicopters and dozens of fire trucks were deployed across the province to tackle the multiple blazes. Turkey’s Aegean and Mediterranean coasts are vulnerable to wildfire each summer. A combination of prolonged drought, temperatures regularly exceeding 40C in July and August, low humidity and strong seasonal winds — particularly the dry, northerly Etesian winds known as the meltemi — creates conditions in which fires can spread rapidly through pine and scrub forests.
